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How the World Has Changed…

When I started to write this post, I was writing about transitions with a new job, a new schedule and my seven year old son. Then I stopped. Thought about what I was writing, and where it would be.

And I deleted each word.

Even though I was careful to keep specifics out of it, well it just didn’t feel right. Even when it seems innocuous, even when you “think” it can’t connect to your every day life. Of course it can. We’ve all watched enough movies and TV shows and enough news programs to know it can.

I write romantic suspense, often historical, so a lot of my time is spent in researching just how bad things could be. My upcoming book (and series) is set in Regency era England, showing the pretty worlds of ballrooms and debutantes and a side we see less of, the uglier underworld. Somehow, I think we romanticize the past, we view it as less violent, less harrowing, and less dangerous. But I’ve found facts and stories of the past that astound me. After this series, my next book will be set in Victorian England. The facts about a crime I unearthed in my research wanderings shocked me to my core. (And I think it’s clear that I might need professional help since I can’t wait to write that story.)

I remember being a kid and heading out the door when the sun came up and not coming back inside until it was just peeking over the horizon. I would stay out for hours. All day. Playing, running around the neighborhood with friends, exploring the world. Riding my bike most often. I took city buses to school when I was in 3rd grade. Did we live in a gentler, softer world? Or perhaps what has transitioned is how much we know, and how fast. Information exchanges at lightning speeds these days, and we can know within seconds of a crime committed in another state.

So has the world really changed? What do you think?

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About Jeannie Ruesch

Jeannie Ruesch is an author of historical romantic suspense, a graphic designer, a mom and an avid fan of popcorn. Her next book, CLOAKED IN DANGER, comes out January 27, 2014— “...larger-than-life characters, a vivid and believable setting, heart-pounding romance and just the right amount of mystery. Don’t miss it! It kept me reading deep into the night.” — New York Times Bestselling Author Brenda Novak

Hmm, that’s a good question. Technology has changed how we hear things, so putting that aside, I think PEOPLE basically haven’t changed, but because we live in the age of instant info sharing, we are more aware of what’s going on. It’s like living in a place you think is the safest in the world because you haven’t HEARD anything bad happening. Now that newscasters aren’t the gatekeepers to news, we are amazed by just how bad our neighbors are, our cities, our country, our friends…

I think parents are a lot more nervous now than they were, and I think Ednah’s right–it’s because we know more and in more detail. I also think we expect to be protected more. When I was a kid, eons ago, there were no seat belts and my mother, a fairly paranoid pediatric nurse, let me ride on the tailgate of our station wagon. Nobody’d ever heard of a car seat. Even where I live, in the boonies, people are aware that bad things sometimes happen to kids who are walking along the road alone at twilight, even though such a thing has never happened HERE. Kids still run out the door for the day, but they have cell phones with them.

I think it’s not so much the world has changed but information about it has. Both good and bad. We now are more strict about what’s right and wrong; we have better tools to face parenthood and teaching etc. But on the same thread, we’ve forgone instinct to go for books. Sometimes too much information is a bad thing. *sigh* … Long gone are the days of ignorant bliss.

If people read to escape, it makes sense that they would prefer to read more about ballrooms and the underworld–although solving mysteries can also be an escape. As for whether or not the world has changed, I don’t think human nature has changed, but technology has made it possible for people to attack others and for world of that attack has spread. It’s a challenge how to keep children safe under such circumstances while giving them the chance to grow up and be independent.